Seashore
A comprehensive, authoritative account of the natural history of the seashore, from earliest times to the present day. This edition is exclusive to newnaturalists.comThe seashore, with its endlessly changing tides, is one of the most fluctuating physical environments on the planet. Home to an abundance of animal and plant life, it is also one of the richest habitats the naturalist can explore. Here in Britain, we are fortunate to have a long and varied coastline, and our relatively large tidal ranges mean that our seashore offers a wide range of coastal habitats, including mud, sand, shingle and rock. In New Naturalist Seashore, Peter Hayward looks at:• Resident and migrant species, including fish, barnacles, limpets, winkles, sponges, algae, lichens and sea grasses• The effects of tourism and pollution on these habitats• The geology of the British Isles, with its sinking and rising coastlines• The responses and adaptations of plant and animal life to a changing physical environmentThis narrow strip of beach between the land and the sea that we call the seashore, has always attracted man, in the early years as a source of food, and in Victorian times as a rich habitat that the early naturalists would explore. In this fascinating addition to the highly regarded New Naturalist series, Peter Hayward brings the natural history of the seashore right up to date.
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Collins New Naturalist Library
94
A Natural History of The Seashore
Peter J. Hayward
Sarah A. Corbet ScD
S.M.Walters, ScD, VMH
Prof. Richard West, ScD, FRS, FGS
David Streeter, FIBiol
Derek A. Ratcliffe
The aim of this series is to interest the general reader in the wildlife of Britain by recapturing the enquiring spirit of the old naturalists. The editors believe that the natural pride of the British public in the native flora and fauna, to which must be added concern for their conservation, is best fostered by maintaining a high standard of accuracy combined with clarity of exposition in presenting the results of modern scientific research.
For Pamela, Emma and Anna
Table of Contents
Authorâs Foreword and Acknowledgements
Appendix 1 Systematic List of Phyla and Larger Taxonomic Groups Mentioned in Text
Appendix 2 Criteria of Abundance for Common Plants and Animals of Rocky Seashores
Appendix 3 Record Sheet Devised for a Rocky Shore Transect
Appendix 5 The Wentworth Scale for the Classification of Sediments
This book is the successor to an earlier classic. Its distinguished predecessor, The Seashore by C. M. Yonge, number 12 in the New Naturalist Library, appeared in 1949. Since then there have been great advances in biological research on the seashore, particularly on ecological aspects. Approaches to the understanding of littoral ecology have changed in several important ways, as reflected in this book. First, emphasis has shifted from what organisms are and how they work to what they do. As well as introducing the fauna and flora of the shore, this book tells us much more about behaviour and ecological interactions than was known in 1949. Second, burgeoning environmental awareness justifies a deeper consideration of conservation, pollution and habitat degradation, in the context of a changing climate, topics that were scarcely regarded as important 50 years ago.
Field work on the seashore remains a valuable component of biological education in schools and universities, bringing to life ecological principles and enabling students to meet bizarre groups of animals and plants many of which are confined to the marine environment. For naturalists whose experience is limited to terrestrial habitats, the seashore biota is as refreshingly novel as that of another planet, and much more readily available for study. Its accessibility at low tide makes the seashore a wonderfully rich study site for those interested in natural history. Inevitably, its rich biological diversity brings problems of identification, but these have been greatly reduced over the last half-century, bringing the informed study of seashore life within the scope of non-specialists as well as professional biologists. Peter Hayward has himself played a major part in this advance, not only in his taxonomic works on bryozoans, but more generally in his contribution to the magnificent The marine fauna of the British Isles and northwest Europe, and in more widely available works including Handbook of the marine fauna of north-west Europe, Collins pocket guide to the seashore of Britain and Europe, and Naturalistsâ Handbooks on the organisms of two widespread and accessible but rather poorly known habitats, seaweeds and sandy shores. Having helped to provide us with the means of identification at all levels, he now shares his expertise and enthusiasm for the study of seashore life.
This book presents one view of seashore natural history, and use of the indefinite article in the title is thus deliberate. It is not intended to replace the fine earlier volume by C. M. Yonge (New Naturalist 12), which offers another view from another time, but it is hoped that the two will complement each other. This volume is founded upon 50-odd years of exploration of marine biology, fossicking on the seashore or absorbed at a microscope, guided by expert teachers, stimulated by companions, classmates and students, and informed by the research of distinguished marine biologists. It is not a scientific review and it is certainly not a textbook; it is intended for the entertainment of the informed enthusiast. It is also an indulgence, and I am grateful to HarperCollins for allowing me the freedom to follow a personal pathway through this delightful field of natural history. Choosing the route has been difficult, and perhaps I have lingered too long at some points along the way, and too briefly at others. This is a reflection not entirely of personal interest, but also of the limitations of personal expertise, and the complexities of coastal marine biology and ecology. For example, estuarine and brackish water habitats, seagrasses, salt marshes and mud flats are the realm of a specialist branch of the marine biology community, and another New Naturalist could be devoted to these aspects of coastal natural history. They are treated only in passing here. Similarly, there is a thriving community of seaweed biologists and ecologists, and a long tradition of fine scientific and popular literature on seaweeds that ought to culminate in yet another New Naturalist. Finally, as an invertebrate biologist, I hesitate to express my opinions before the huge and diverse comity of fish specialists. As with seaweeds, fish are considered here only in the broader context of littoral ecology.
